Baseball Game Preview: Elida Bulldogs vs. Van Wert Cougars

Elida is 0-6 against Van Wert since April of 2016 but things could change on Friday. The Bulldogs will be playing at home against the Cougars at 5:30 p.m. Neither Elida nor Van Wert posted many runs in their last games, so it might be the pitching crews that decide this one.

Elida fell victim to Archbold and their airtight pitching crew on Thursday. They fell just short of the Blue Streaks by a score of 1-0.

Gabe Miley spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on four hits and racked up six Ks.

Meanwhile, Van Wert won against Kenton on Tuesday with two runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Thursday. The Cougars beat Heritage by the very same score they won with in their prior game: 2-1.

Van Wert also let their pitcher toss all seven innings and he was also dialed-in: Samuel Houg gave up a run (which was unearned) on seven hits.

At the plate, Van Wert's win was truly a team effort as three different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Griffin McCracken, who went 1-for-3 with two RBI and one double.

Elida now has a losing record of 2-3. As for Van Wert, their victory bumped their record up to 2-0.

Elida might still be hurting after the 11-3 loss they got from Van Wert when the teams last played back in May of 2024. Can the Bulldogs avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.